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New Year's resolution to quit smoking

The New Year is also the time of good intentions, and for many Swiss people, finally kicking the habit is likely to be on top of their list. It's worth it, because the benefits of not smoking become noticeable quickly.

Smoking can cause cancer of the lung, trachea and bronchi, mouth, throat and oesophagus, as well as of the colon and bladder. In addition, smokers have a much higher risk of cardiovascular disease, infertility and miscarriage. By kicking the habit you can reduce the risk of contracting such a disease enormously. According to the Zurich Cancer League, the following benefits become apparent already after a short time:

  • Twenty minutes after the last cigarette, the increased heartbeat will start to normalise.
  • Two to twelve weeks afterwards, the risk of a heart attack will decline and the lung function will start to recover.
  • One year afterwards, the risk of a cardiovascular disease will have dropped by half.
  • Five to fifteen years afterwards, the risk to the lungs will have declined by fifty percent.
  • Ten years afterwards, numerous cancer risks will have declined considerably.
  • Fifteen to twenty years afterwards, the risk of heart disease or lung cancer will be about the same as that of a non-smoker.


But not everyone finds it easy to quit smoking, even with the best of intentions. To help you kick the habit in the new year, you can now sign up for a group course with the Zurich Cancer League. If taking a group course is not an option, you may find our nine tips on how to quit smoking to be helpful.

In case you have any further questions on the topic of smoking, you can get information about smoking cessation from your advisers and doctors. SWICA offers generous contributions from its COMPLETA PRAEVENTA and OPTIMA supplementary plans to help you to quit smoking. Furthermore, pharmacies have a wide range of items, such as nicotine patches and chewing gum that will help you to quit.

03.01.2018


In the event of further health-related questions, SWICA customers can contact the santé24 telemedicine service free of charge on +41 44 404 86 86. A telemedicine practice licence allows santé24 physicians to provide additional medical services in cases that are suited to a telemedicine approach. SWICA customers can also use the BENECURA medical app to carry out a digital SymptomCheck and receive recommendations about what to do next. During a subsequent phone call with santé24, customers can decide for themselves whether to release their information from SymptomCheck to santé24.